Best archtops?

jonpowl · May 2018

I just ran across this YouTube video of the "5 Best Jazz Archtops Under $1,000". I haven't watched the whole video and have no idea how acurate it is.

Buco · May 2018

Man I thought I dropped through a time wormhole, I know I read this days ago and I'm scanning through this thread and not seeing your old posts and only then, aha there is that other thread.

Anyway, how about removing the pickguard, shouldn't be that hard no?

Did you put new strings on it yet?
My Martin flattop always starts to rattle with the old strings. It happens every time and I could never explain it. I put a new set and it goes away. And of course, I've gotten "this dude's crazy" look from the guitar techs when I asked them about it.
Now I just use it as indicator when it's time to replace the strings and kinda wish I could build it into my GJ guitar.

rgrice · May 2018

@Buco There's new Thomastiks on it. I can't as the Dearmond needs the pickguard with volume pot. Same look when the tech finished tinkering with it.

Russell Letson · May 2018

About that "5 Best" video: I note that "jazz archtop" means "hollowbody electric," and plywood at that. A laminated-top instrument with set-in pickups and controls is a very different beast from a carved-solid guitar.

That said, the example Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin I heard a few weeks ago had a very respectable electric-jazz sound. But it wasn't designed to do the same job as the (solid-carved-top) Loar that he dismisses as "mass-produced in China or some other third-world country." (As far as I can tell, all of the recommended guitars except the Godin are mass-produced in Asia.)

rgrice · May 2018

I saw that @Russell Letson and agree 100%.

plexi69 · May 2018

Archtop.com is a great place to look for vintage archtops. They always have an unreal selection to look at. I personally would buy vintage over a modern build. But different strokes as they say. Best of luck either way.

Russell Letson · May 2018

Archtop.com is like a year-round Sears Christmas Catalog, and our checking account breaks into a sweat every time I look at it. But, yes, it is a very good place to survey what's available and what the market is like. As for modern vs vintage, that's a matter of taste, though as an owner of both kinds (and a long-time sampler), I have to say that there are modern builders and even factories producing very respectable guitars in this tradition.

Bones · May 2018

Yeah there are certainly great new guitars being built these days. And there are certainly some vintage guitars that are crap. Every guitar is different and tastes are subjective. The nice thing about new guitars is that they are 'new' and not fraught with the fragility of an older, worn out or abused instrument. But I get the whole vintage nostalgia thing.